Archive for February, 2010

If you are attending the HEUG conference in San Antonio the week of March 1^st. Stephen Gilfus, of the Gilfus Education Group, and Rob Cardelli would like to  invite you to our booth to meet or new team. Peak Performance and the Gilfus Education Group have joined together to provide unmatched capabilities to the industry.

 Our team will be at Booth 346 where we will be giving out multiple prizes daily ranging from gift cards to digital cameras to Sony Play Stations.  In addition, come join us at the executive industry panel session on the emergence of Shared Service Models, Tuesday March 2nd at 10:00 am. If you are not attending and have others within your organization that are please let us know so we can make it a point to say hello in person while we are all together.

 Our Peak Performance/Gilfus Education Group team will at HEUG to offer insight into our core services offerings:

• Advisory Services (CIO, CFO, ERP, Vendor Selections and Activity Based Costing)
• Program Management Services (PMO’s, Project Management, Organizational Change Management and End User Training)
• Implementations and Upgrades (Our unique onsite, remote, full time, part time and “as needed” consulting models)
• Data Warehouses and Business Intelligence (Implementing EPM along with HCM, Financials and Campus Solutions Data Marts and integrating with OBIEE)
• Software as a Service and the future of ERP and LMS Technologies
• Shared Service and Collaborative Models to share fixed costs with your peers and potentially generate revenue for your organization

 We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio at the HEUG conference next week.

Rob Cardelli – President Peak Performance Tech.

Stephen Gilfus – President and CEO, Gilfus Education Group
Latest News
Peak Performance Technologies merges with Gilfus Education Group

Technorati Tags: Advisory Services for Education, Gilfus Education Group, HEUG, peak performance, San Antonio HEUG, shared services

Title: The Higher Education User Group
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Link out: Click here
Description: Peak Performance Technologies (A Gilfus Education Group Company) is a sponsor at the HEUG in 2010 and presenting on Shared Service Models in Education & Government. If you are going to be there feel free to visit our booth (number 346)

The conference that has now become the Alliance conference began in 1998 as the Higher Education Special Interest Group (HE-SIG) conference, organized by a small group of PeopleSoft users in the higher education community. That conference and the next two HE-SIG conferences (1999 and 2000) were held in Dallas, Texas at the Adams-Mark Hotel.

By 2001 the Higher Education User Group had been incorporated, and the conference became the HEUG Conference, held at Disney World, Florida that year. The next several HEUG Conferences were held in Las Vegas (2002), Dallas (2003), Atlanta (2004), and Las Vegas (2005). In 2006 the conference was held in Nashville, but the name of the conference was changed to Alliance, reflecting the expansion of the conference to include members of the PSUG (Public Sector User Group) and FUN (Federal Users Network). The expansion of the conference also reflected the acquisition of PeopleSoft by Oracle, with sessions on Oracle E-Business applications being added. Alliance 2007 was held at Disney World, and Alliance 2008 in Las Vegas. The 2008 conference included sessions on Hyperion software, reflecting another major acquisition by Oracle.

Attendance at Alliance conferences has now reached nearly 5000 participants, including members of HEUG, PSUG and FUN, a large contingent of strategists, developers and managers from Oracle, and a wide array of other vendor partners that help complete the “ecosystem” that supports the use of Oracle application software in higher education and the public sector. The Alliance conference has become one of the major events in the world of Oracle user groups, and has developed a well deserved reputation for the diversity, quality and candor of its sessions and networking opportunities, and for the great value it offers attendees.

The Alliance conference has also begun to expand geographically, with the first Alliance Down Under conference taking place in Brisbane, Australia during November, 2007. As our community of users of Oracle application software grows, the HEUG and its Alliance partners continue to explore new opportunities for conferences that can effectively serve their members.
Start Date: 2010-02-28
End Date: 2010-03-23

The Gilfus Education Group predicts that over the next few years, educators will make great progress in combining existing technology capabilities with the practices and theories of learning communities.

These efforts will result in the development of a vigorous community learning platform which enables a richer set of educational experiences for students and instructors, facilitating the positive effects characterized by generations of educators, psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists.

During the Webinar you will learn how a new paradigm of community, context and content can fulfill the greater promise of community learning through increasing student engagement and academic achievement. The robust capabilities made possible by a Community Platform for Education could supersede and altogether displace the very notion of an LMS.

You will also learn how GoingOn provides a fast and cost effective solution for building online communities and is already delivering fundamental features of a Community Platform for Education to its clients today.

Please join Stephen Gilfus, CEO of the Gilfus Education Group and Jon Corshen, CEO of GoingOn on either:

• Tuesday, February 23^rd at 2:00 pm EST
• Thursday, February 25^th at 4:00 pm EST

Please Note: Due to popular demand this is our second round of presentations.

Title: Datatel Partner Summit (Invite Only)
Description: Dear Datatel Partner,
Datatel invites your organization to its 2010 Datatel Partner Summit, February 15th & 16th, to be held in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

We have an exciting year ahead and together we can make 2010 a resounding success. Attending Datatel’s inaugural Partner Summit will give you access to Datatel’s executive leadership, product managers, and sales force and provide your company with the necessary tools to make the most of your partnership with us.
You will learn about:
• Datatel’s strategic vision for 2010 and beyond
• Product innovations such as
o The Intelligent Learning Platform
o Datatel Recruiter
o Mobilizing the Datatel Platform
• New service initiatives
Most importantly, Datatel’s Partner Summit will give your company a roadmap for partnering with us in 2010– how to best build, manage, and guide the success of your company by leveraging your partnership with Datatel.

Remember to save the dates, February 15th and 16th. We look forward to seeing you there.

Start Date: 2010/02/15
End Date: 2010/02/16

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s multi-trillion-dollar budget would boost spending for several government agencies while slashing the account for others. Here is an agency-by-agency glance:
____
Agency: Agriculture
Spending: $148.6 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 9.7 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $122.8 billion
Highlights: Obama’s proposed budget includes hundreds of millions of dollars in increased spending to help feed the poor while also limiting government handouts to wealthy farmers.
The budget would provide $8.1 billion for nutrition programs, a $400 million increase from the president’s 2010 budget. It would allocate $10 billion over 10 years to improve access to USDA food programs, establishing higher nutrition standards at schools and aiming to reduce childhood hunger.
The budget also would increase government spending on food stamps, a jump of $11 million to a proposed $36 million. That includes an extension for an additional year of benefits under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which temporarily eliminated food stamp time limits for certain low-income adults.
Obama wants to limit the amount of money that wealthy farmers can receive from the government. Direct payments to farmers would be reduced from $40,000 per person per year to $30,000. Direct payments are payments to farmers based on historical production.
The budget also proposes limiting direct payments to farmers who make $500,000 or less in farm income; the limit is currently $750,000 or less.
Also in Obama’s agriculture proposal:
• $429 million for research grants through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
• $418 million in loans and grants for expanding rural broadband access.
• $1.2 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to help farmers comply with regulatory requirements and protect natural resources, a 67 percent increase in funding over 2010.
_Henry C. Jackson
____
Agency: Commerce
Spending: $9.1 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 34.4 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: $180 million
Highlights: The department’s discretionary budget would decline from $13.8 billion in 2010 to $8.9 billion in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Much of the proposed decrease comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which received a huge spending increase last year to hire about a half million people and conduct the 2010 census.
The proposed Commerce budget would provide $1.3 billion to process, tabulate and release 2010 census data. Funds for the census are closely watched by Congress because the count determines government pay-outs to states and cities and the number of congressional seats in each state. Democrats typically seek more funds to enable accurate counts for poor and minority communities who have been undercounted in the past.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the government’s weather forecasting and conducts climate and ocean research, would get more money in the plan. The proposal would provide NOAA with more than $2 billion — the equivalent of the worldwide box office take of the blockbuster film “Avatar” — for weather satellites, measurements of sea level and other climate data.
The proposed budget would eliminate a grant program created in 2004 for manufacturers of worsted wool fabric. The department said wool manufacturers had enough time to adjust to changes in the trade law. It would also ax funding for a program that supports public television stations’ conversion to digital broadcasting. The department said the required conversion efforts have been completed and money for remaining digital conversion would be available from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
_Ken Thomas
____
Agency: Defense
Spending: $768.2 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 2.2 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $59.9 billion
Highlights: Obama’s budget would boost defense spending slightly, with more money for helicopters, unmanned planes, commandos and other highly specialized assets that officials say are needed to fight nimble enemy forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The budget also would support for the first time Obama’s envisioned European missile shield aimed at deterring Iran. Last fall, Obama scrapped a Bush-era project in Eastern Europe in favor of smaller radar systems with a network of sensors and missiles deployed at sea or on land.
Unlike last year’s budget, when Obama called for an end to F-22 production, Obama’s 2011 plan spares the military’s major defense systems. The budget supports the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a new family of ground vehicles, as well as new ships.
One exception is the C-17 cargo plane, which the administration says the military should stop buying. The proposed cut would save $2.5 billion. The Pentagon has tried to cease production of the aircraft before, but lawmakers have restored the money because they fear ending the program would cost jobs in their home states.
Included in the $768 billion request is $159 billion for operations overseas.
In addition to the 2011 defense budget, Obama is asking for another $33 billion in war spending to sustain operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September. The administration says the extra money was needed because of the 30,000 more troops being sent to Afghanistan.
_Anne Flaherty
___
Agency: Education
Spending: $82.3 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 32.8 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $32.6 billion
Highlights: Obama is asking Congress for a major increase in education spending as he seeks to overhaul the nation’s system and revise the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law.
The administration wants to help an additional 1 million college students by increasing the Pell Grant tuition program by $17 billion, to just under $35 billion. Pell Grants are the main form of college aid to the poor. The maximum grant would increase by $160 to $5,710.
Obama is seeking an increase in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a $3 billion jump to $28 billion. There could be $1 billion more if Congress agrees to some major changes in the law.
The administration wants $1.35 billion more to expand the president’s Race to the Top challenge, a federal grant program in which 40 states are competing for $4 billion in education money included in last year’s stimulus bill.
In revising the No Child Left Behind law, Obama wants changes in how schools are judged to be successes or failures. The administration contends that if federal education spending is more competitive, states and school districts would do a better job. That’s a change from the government’s traditional formula-driven approach in which states and districts can look forward to getting a certain amount of money each school year, regardless of how good a job they do educating students.
Obama favors using student test scores to judge teacher performance and determine support for charter schools, which get public money but operate independently of local school boards. National teachers’ unions disagree with that approach, saying student achievement is more than standardized test scores and that relying heavily on charter schools is a mistake.
Congress passed the No Child Left Behind law with bipartisan support in 2001 but deadlocked over a rewrite in 2007.
_Andrew Miga
____
Agency: Energy
Spending: $26.8 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 9.2 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: None.
Highlights: The budget follows through on Obama’s call in his State of the Union address to build “a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country,” by tripling the amount for loan guarantees for nuclear power to $54.5 billion. The spending proposal also aims to give a boost to energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with an additional $500 million in credit subsidy in support of $3 billion to $5 billion in loan guarantees.
As a candidate, Obama promised to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility in Nevada, and the budget calls for eliminating funding for the site.
The budget also calls for a 4.6 percent increase in basic research.
Funding would be increased for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs such as solar energy.
_Frederic Frommer
___
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Spending: $9.9 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 3.2 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: None.
Highlights: Obama’s budget would finance efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the gases blamed for global warming — a first — as the administration awaits congressional action on legislation.
The budget seeks $43 million in new funds for the EPA and states to control emissions of heat-trapping pollution from automobiles and refineries, power plants and factories. The administration also is looking for more money to roll out a new rule that would require polluters to annually report the amount of greenhouse gases they release.
Unlike last year, the budget does not bank on raising money for a promised tax cut and clean energy technologies by auctioning off permits to companies that emit global warming gases. Congress has balked at that strategy. A House-passed bill gives the bulk of the permits away for free, as would a proposal being worked on in the Senate. Instead, there is a placeholder for a to-be-determined climate policy that would reduce emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050. The budget says the policy will be deficit neutral because the money made from selling permits will be returned to families, communities and businesses to help offset higher energy costs.
With a slight decrease in its request for hazardous-waste sites, the administration will likely continue to lag behind previous administrations in the pace of its cleanups.
The budget would continue to supply billions of dollars worth of grants to states and local governments to improve sewage treatment plants and drinking water systems, although the total is slightly less than last year. It adds another $1.3 billion — a 14 percent increase — to help cash-strapped states and tribes implement air and water programs.
_Dina Cappiello
____
Agency: Health and Human Services
Spending: $915.5 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 3.9 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $832 billion
Highlights: Obama’s health care budget takes modest steps to stretch the safety net for low-income families trapped in the economic downturn and improve the quality of medical care for seniors.
But his biggest project — health care overhaul to expand coverage and grapple with costs — is on hold in Congress with Democrats uncertain how to push the sweeping legislation over the finish line.
The budget includes a $25.5 billion cash infusion to help states cover the costs of their Medicaid programs until July of next year. Medicaid rolls grew as state revenues plummeted during the recession. Under the budget, every state would get an additional 6.2 percent of its Medicaid costs paid by Washington. That would extend federal assistance provided under the stimulus bill.
Obama is also calling for a big increase — $290 million — for community health centers that are front-line providers of medical care for low-income Americans, including many uninsured.
The budget takes a small — but potentially significant — step to improve Medicare quality by launching a series of experiments on how to better coordinate care for seniors with multiple chronic illness. And it adds funds for research into what kinds of medical treatments work best.
Also in Obama’s health budget:
• A crackdown on fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, which the administration estimates could save more than $1 billion a year over the next decade.
• A $1.4 billion investment to improve food safety, following outbreaks of illness in recent years.
• A $1 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health for medical research, including the development of new drugs for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
_Ricardo Alonso-Zaldviar
___
Agency: Homeland Security
Spending: $44 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 1 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $193 million
Highlights: In the wake of the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack, Obama is seeking to strengthen aviation security programs.
The budget proposes funds to pay for 1,000 technologically advanced machines at airports. There is also money to hire more Federal Air Marshals so that they will be on more international flights. Currently there are more than 4,000 air marshals, with the exact figure classified.
While Obama is asking for the same amount in overall funds for screening operations — such as those at airports — he is asking for more money for explosive detection devices.
The budget calls for 25 percent less money for the border fence and technology — a controversial George W. Bush administration initiative that has run into problems.
The president’s is asking for more money for counterterrorism and preparedness grants.
On the heels of the administration’s decision to reconsider holding the high profile Sept. 11 trial in New York City, the president is asking for $200 million in grants available to those cities that do end up holding these trials. New York lawmakers said it would cost them $200 million a year if the trial is held in a Manhattan courthouse.
Despite promises to make cyber security a priority in his administration, Obama is asking for a decrease in funds for the department’s cyber security division. He is also asking for less money to fund a program that detects biological threats.
Obama also is calling for cutting 1,100 active duty personnel in the Coast Guard and 181 Border Patrol agents. Recent administrations have hired more agents and Obama said the current number of about 20,000 agents is sufficient. Funds for immigration enforcement remains basically the same as last year.
_Eileen Sullivan
____
Agency: Housing and Urban Development
Spending: $48.9 billion
Percentage change from 2010: .9 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: $7.3 billion
Highlights: The agency got a big boost in funding during the president’s first year but would experience a small cut in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
Cuts would occur in a fund used to renovate public housing inventory, from $2.3 billion to $2 billion, and in the block grants used for constructing Native American housing, from $690 million to $578 million. Two programs that finance the development of supportive housing for the elderly and disabled will be suspended, though projects already in the pipeline would continue.
The agency will also begin consolidating 13 rental assistance programs to cut down on duplicative work assignments and improve customer service.
Spending on homelessness assistance would increase by nearly $200 million, or about 10 percent. Also, a recent increase in borrower fees and stricter lending requirements will generate $6 billion in profit for the Federal Housing Administration, a stark contrast to the publicly anticipated shortfall. The agency is a major source of funds for first time home buyers and there have been concerns that it would need a cash infusion.
_Kevin Freking
____
Agency: Interior
Spending: $12.1 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 5.9 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: $30 million
Highlights: Interior would invest more than $73 million — an increase of $14.2 million — to spur construction of windmills, solar panels and other green-energy projects. The budget calls for increased taxes and fees on oil and gas companies that harvest fossil fuels in the Gulf of Mexico and on other public property.
The plan would save $115 million this year, and $1.2 billion over 10 years, by eliminating payments to states and Indian tribes that have completed cleanup of abandoned coal mines. The administration said the payments were intended to encourage mine cleanup and were never meant to continue after the work was completed.
The budget would cut $30 million for a National Park Service program called Save America’s Treasures. The administration said the historic preservation program lacks rigorous performance standards and its benefits are unclear.
The plan would add more than $35 million to help land and wildlife managers monitor and prepare for global warming’s toll. And it would set aside $75 million for a reserve fund to address catastrophic wildfires, so agencies don’t have to divert money budgeted for other purposes.
The budget would provide $445 million — an increase of $106 million — to purchase more land and forests and to establish programs that encourage young people to hunt, fish and get outdoors.
_Matthew Daly
___
Agency: Justice
Spending: $31.4 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 5.7 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $7.3 billion
Highlights: The proposed budget calls for $73 million for the transfer, prosecution and incarceration of Guantanamo Bay detainees. The administration said it will work with Congress to identify additional funds and other resources that may be needed in the current fiscal year to address “extraordinary federal, state, and local security requirements associated with terrorism trials that may begin in 2010 and continue into 2011.”
The budget also would allocate $237 million to acquire, renovate, equip and staff a state prison at Thomson, Ill., to house detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
_Pete Yost
___
Agency: Labor
Spending: $117.5 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 43 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: $103.5 billion
Highlights: The Labor Department would see a major drop in spending for its unemployment insurance programs. That’s because the administration forecasts an economic rebound and expects fewer people to claim unemployment benefits.
At the same time, the budget would boost funds to make the agency’s job training programs more effective and find better ways to help young workers find jobs.
The budget continues to increase spending for the department’s worker protection agencies — including enforcement of workplace health, safety and wage laws — to return these programs to staffing levels that were in place in 2001, before the Bush administration began making cuts.
The White House projects a savings of about $4 billion over 10 years by cracking down on states that make unauthorized unemployment insurance payments. It also projects saving $300 million over the next decade by targeting employers who evade unemployment taxes.
The new crackdown will focus on employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying taxes. The department will identify certain industries where it believes worker misclassification is rampant and plans to increase audits to make sure taxes are being paid.
The administration is starting a new program to automatically enroll workers in employer pension plans or other retirement accounts to encourage retirement savings. About 78 million Americans lack employer-based retirement plans outside the Social Security system.
Employees could opt out of the program if they didn’t want to participate, and small businesses would be exempt.
_Sam Hananel
____
Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Spending: $19 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 1.5 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: None
Highlights: Obama’s budget would kill former President George W. Bush’s $100 billion mission to return to the moon, on the seventh anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. It was that loss of the shuttle that spurred Bush to propose the plan that was nicknamed “Apollo on steroids,” but last year an outside panel said the Bush program didn’t have enough money to do all it proposed. The budget said repeating the Apollo program 50 years later is “the least attractive approach to space exploration.” NASA has already spent $9.1 billion on the program.
Obama’s budget promises a “bold new course for human space flight,” but provides no details, such as where astronauts would go, in what ship or by when. It extends the life of the International Space Station beyond its 2016 retirement date and provides $6 billion over five years in additional spending, mostly to spur commercial companies to develop still-untested private rocketships. NASA would then buy rides in those ships like taxis.
The budget is much more about spending closer to Earth. It promises a speeding up of launching new Earth’s observing satellites, especially to monitor climate change. It includes money to fly a replacement for a carbon dioxide monitoring satellite that fell into the ocean last year instead of going into orbit.
Science spending at NASA would jump by about 12 percent and the agency is doubling what it spends on aeronautics, highlighting programs to reduce pollution from aircraft. Spending on day-to-day space operations, with the upcoming retirement of the space shuttle fleet, and education would go down 20 percent.
_Seth Borenstein
____
Agency: State
Spending: $63.8 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 2.3 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: $7.9 billion
Highlights: The budget for the State Department and international affairs includes $4 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and $3.1 billion for Pakistan to be used for reconstruction and to improve governance and combat corruption and extremism. It foresees hiring an additional 500 civilian personnel to work in Afghanistan and Pakistan and provides for increased security at U.S. diplomatic missions in the two countries.
The budget sets aside $2.6 billion for civilian operations in Iraq, where the State Department is assuming responsibility for programs previously handled by the Pentagon, which is drawing down its troop presence there.
The administration is asking for $8.5 billion to expand the president’s Global Health Initiative and increases funding to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other tropical diseases and improve maternal and child health. It is seeking $1.6 billion for agriculture development and nutrition programs and $1.4 billion to help developing nations adapt to climate change and pursue low-carbon development.
The spending plan calls for $446 million to boost the number of Peace Corps volunteers by 50 percent to 11,000 by 2016.
It also includes:
• $1.9 billion in annual contributions and arrears to regional development banks to support the world’s poorest countries.
• $1.3 billion for new Millennium Challenge Corporation poverty reduction and economic growth programs for countries that meet certain good governance standards.
_Matthew Lee
____
Agency: Transportation
Spending: $79.2 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 1 percent increase
Mandatory Spending: $56.4 billion
Highlights: Calls for the creation of a $4 billion National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund. Large, expensive projects sometimes have trouble obtaining money, especially if more than one state or local jurisdiction is involved. The fund will target projects that will have the biggest impact on improving transportation or safety, such as replacing aging bridges that limit harbor access or antiquated tunnels that force trains to slow to a crawl.
The fund would be a significant departure from the federal government’s traditional means of spending on infrastructure through grants to specific states and localities, often by formulas created by Congress to generate political support for legislation that doesn’t take into account that some states or regions might have greater needs. The fund would directly support projects through grants, loans or a blend of both, and seek to leverage private capital.
While campaigning for president, Barack Obama called for creation of a national infrastructure investment bank using seed money from the federal government. The proposed fund would be part of the Transportation Department and wouldn’t have the independence of a stand-alone bank. However, it would perform some of the same functions.
In his first budget as president, Obama requested $5 billion for a national infrastructure investment bank, but the proposal has had a hard time winning approval in Congress.
The latest budget proposal also seeks an additional $1 billion for high-speed trains. Last week, Obama announced grants totaling $8 billion to 13 major rail projects across the country. Separately, Congress allocated $2.5 billion for the current budget year ending on Sept. 30.
The proposal also seeks $1.1 billion for FAA’s NextGen program, a long-term effort to improve the efficiency, safety and capacity of the air traffic control system by moving from ground-based radar surveillance to a more accurate satellite-based surveillance.
_Joan Lowy
____
Agency: Treasury
Percentage change from 2010: 40.1 percent increase.
Mandatory Spending: $546.9 billion
Highlights: The bulk of the Treasury’s mandatory spending is for interest on the public debt, an ever increasing component of the federal budget. The estimated interest payment for 2011 is $499 billion. The budget projects that the gross federal debt in 2011 will be $15.1 trillion, up from nearly $12 trillion in 2009.
One reason for the sharp increase from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2011 is that the estimated mandatory spending for 2010 has been revised downward due to repayments of $114.5 billion from banks that received infusions of government money at the height of the financial crisis.
Treasury also has revised the long-term cost of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program down to $117 billion; the Congressional Budget Office has placed the total cost of the program to taxpayers at $99 billion. In either case, the administration is proposing a fee on large financial institutions to cover that shortfall, whatever it may be. That levy would raise an average of about $9 billion a year. Congress would have to approve the new fee.
Obama plans to ask Congress to use $30 billion from TARP to inject money into small community banks at low rates on the condition the banks use the money to increase lending to small businesses.
_Jim Kuhnhenn
____
Agency: Veterans Affairs
Spending: $121.7 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 2.6 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: $64.7 billion
Highlights: Some 2 million veterans have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The budget proposal would invest nearly $800 million in services targeting veterans who are homeless, in part, through partnerships with private and government groups. It would allocate funds for counseling and medical care for female veterans who are serving at unprecedented levels in the nation’s wars. It would also invest $5.2 billion in specialized care for mental health conditions, including traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The president’s budget also calls for $50.6 billion in advanced appropriations for VA medical care, to prevent budget delays from hindering planning. This was long sought after by veterans’ service organizations, and Obama signed a bill into law last fall allowing advanced appropriations.
The budget also would allow for an increase in enrollment of more than 500,000 moderate-income veterans in the VA system by 2013.
_Kimberly Hefling
____
Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Spending: $4.9 billion
Percentage change from 2010: 11 percent decrease
Mandatory Spending: None.
Highlights: The corps’ 11 percent funding cut would hold spending at roughly the same levels seen during most of the 2000s — just under $5 billion. But the agency, which builds levees and dams around the country and keeps rivers and harbors open for commerce, has been a big recipient of stimulus funding and would get another shot of nearly $1 billion in 2011. That would push its real spending capacity to about $6 billion.
Obama proposed using most of the money on harbor and river projects such as waterway dredging, levee and dam upgrades to prevent flooding, and environmental initiatives such as restoring the Florida Everglades and other coastal wetlands.
Individual priorities are likely to change, however. The agency’s budget is notoriously susceptible to parochial influence in Congress, where lawmakers jockey to steer funds to projects benefiting their home districts.
The administration also is calling for changing the way the agency plans and prioritizes its work so that it focuses on critical projects. Similar efforts have fallen flat on Capitol Hill as diverging interests fight over priorities.
In fiscal 2010, the agency was budgeted to spend $5.4 billion. But including stimulus spending the real budget was closer to $7.6 billion.

On February 3 – 5, 2010 The Gilfus Education Group will be attending Microsoft Global Education Summit (GEPS) in Redmond, WA.

GEPS is an invite-only event held in the headquarters of Microsoft Corporation. It recognizes the Microsoft partners who provide innovative capabilities for educational market all over the world.

If you have any questions about Gilfus Education Group attendees or would like to set up a meeting during the event please contact us at corporate@gilfuseducationgroup.com

Title: Microsoft Global Education Partner Summit (GEPS)
Description: Gilfus Education Group attends Microsoft Global Education Summit

On February 3 – 5, 2010 The Gilfus Education Group will be attending Microsoft Global Education Summit (GEPS) in Redmond, WA.

GEPS is an invite-only event held in the headquarters of Microsoft Corporation. It recognizes the Microsoft partners who provide innovative capabilities for educational market all over the world.

If you have any questions about Gilfus Education Group attendees or would like to set up a meeting during the event please contact us at corporate@gilfuseducationgroup.com
Start Date: 2010/02/03
End Date: 2010/02/05

If you tuned in to Wednesday night’s State of the Union address, then you heard President Obama devote a portion of his remarks to education—and the link between an educated nation and a strong economy. “We need to invest in the skills and education of our people,” the President said to applause from Congress. And to do that, the President said, we need to update our education system by amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (commonly known as “No Child Left Behind”).

Here’s more of what the President said Wednesday night about the imperative to challenge the status quo, reshape and innovate to effectively deliver education in the 21st century—from cradle to college to career.

“Now, this year, we’ve broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools. And the idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform — reform that raises student achievement; inspires students to excel in math and science; and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to the inner city. In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. (Applause.) And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential.

When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all 50 states. Still, in this economy, a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job. That’s why I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. (Applause.)

To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans. (Applause.) Instead, let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. (Applause.) And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years – and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college. (Applause.)

And by the way, it’s time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs – (applause) – because they, too, have a responsibility to help solve this problem.”

Secretary Duncan joined other Cabinet members in the House chamber to hear the President’s remarks and had this reaction afterward, “The President said ‘when’ we reauthorize not ‘if.’ He clearly wants to moves forward on reauthorization and that’s what we’re doing. At a time when most government spending is frozen, he proposed a $3 billion increase in education with an extra $1 billion when we reauthorize. So we are focused on fixing No Child Left Behind and building on the success of Race to the Top to promote competition, flexibility, incentives, rewards and a sharp focus on achievement gaps. Our kids can’t wait.”

Technorati Tags: Education Funding, Investment in Education, Obama

Mellon Foundation awarded a $2.38 million grant to Indiana University
With 2010 well underway, there is an update on changes and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and USC team members. Also, survey results from Kuali Days VIII are available for review. Note: Links may require login to KS Confluence and appropriate permissions.

Kuali Student and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Kuali Foundation Board has commented on the recent changes at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with the merger of its Research in Information Technology (RIT) program into the Scholarly Communications program (to be renamed).

From the Kuali Student perspective, the changes at the Mellon Foundation will have no impact on the project. The original $2.5 million grant provided to the project has been fully received. Furthermore, Kuali Student is designed to be financially self-sustainable with seven institutions committing $5 million each. Kuali Student will also be seeking to expand partnerships with other institutions as critical milestones are reached.

In continued support of Kuali, Mellon Foundation awarded a $2.38 million grant on Monday to Indiana University to lead Kuali OLE (Open Library Environment) project, a partnership of research libraries dedicated to managing increasingly digital resources and collections.

USC Update
The University of Southern California (USC) begins to roll on resources this month. Two developers are scheduled to start in late January, while two Business Analysts are expected by early February. USC is also seeking to fill a User Experience position.

Kuali Days VIII Survey Responses
The Kuali Student survey from Kuali Days VIII has closed. With 16 completed surveys, 85 percent of respondents found the content of Kuali Student sessions to be “excellent” or “good.” Fourteen percent considered the content “adequate”, while no respondents said it was “insufficient.” Similarly, 85 percent of respondents described the KS presenters as “excellent” or “good.” Team members can review the survey’s statistical analysis and the raw responses (in the process of being uploaded) on the KS wiki.

Title: Institutional Effectiveness Executive Day
Location: Redmond, Washington
Description: Gilfus Education Group presents the Educational Technology Framework to 35 Provosts, Vice Provosts and CIO’s in Redmond Washington.

For more information contact us at: corporate@gilfuseducationgroup.com
Date: 2010/02/02